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Home decoration

Painting a brick fireplace ?

32 replies

karmaz · 15/10/2014 22:45

Any opinions about what to do with my hideous brick fireplace. I am all for painting it. Black or white ? As soon as I mention painting it black...people hold their hands up in horror. Would that really look so bad ? My husband wants to leave it as it is, if all the bricks where one colour I would probably agree with him and I wouldn't normally agree with painting brick work but this is just too much to sit at look at every day.

Painting a brick fireplace ?

OP posts:

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wowfudge · 16/10/2014 04:58

Painting it black may have the effect of sucking all the light out of the room - it looks pretty big. Do you plan to take it out at some point in the future? If so, I'd paint it white for now. It will make a big difference.

karmaz · 16/10/2014 12:12

Would ideally love to get rid of it.....but that would be such a huge job and can't see us ever doing that. The room is quite big L shaped with 2 large windows and all the other walls are painted white.....if I did go with the white wowfudge and it looked wrong I suppose I could always paint over that.....they are the worse bricks I have ever seen and unfortunately are in my house.

OP posts:

wowfudge · 16/10/2014 14:00

I'd get rid of it tbh - they are really dated as well as hideous (I take it you didn't put it in?!) the lower ledge takes so much space out of the room too.

karmaz · 16/10/2014 16:29

Not guilty ! It was there when we moved in a few years ago, apparently in 1979 it was acceptable to have such things in your house. If I could afford to get rid of it I would...but more important things to spend money on unfortunately. ...I just announced to my family that it was going to be painted white and they all started to have a hissy fit. So just said it's being painted and that is it....they are currently 50/50 white or black...but say they would prefer it as it is !!

OP posts:

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 16/10/2014 19:55

I whitewashed my fireplace. Absolutely thrilled with it now. I'll see if I can find a before and after pic.

JuniperTisane · 16/10/2014 19:58

I painted the bricks in one fireplace white. It looks great. The other one I got rendered and painted that cream. That looks even nicer.

Fcukfifa · 16/10/2014 20:00

I've seen a photo on Pinterest of a whitewashed brick fireplace and it looked lovely, I'll see if I can find it.

Pretty sure I've seen a black one too and that also looked nice.

Fcukfifa · 16/10/2014 20:01

However I do think the black would be too much, you have black in the wallpaper, the rug (?) the armchair etc

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 16/10/2014 20:02

ok here. Ignore the silly boy in the pic. Ds2 being a nut.

Painting a brick fireplace ?

Painting a brick fireplace ?

Fcukfifa · 16/10/2014 20:05

Some that I found on Pinterest.

Alice that looks lovely!

Painting a brick fireplace ?

Painting a brick fireplace ?

Painting a brick fireplace ?

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 16/10/2014 20:05

I've since wallpapered the walls on either side of the fireplace and painted the other walls and such, so this is bare bones just after whitewashing. But it literally just took a few hours one afternoon. Very cheap - couple big sponges, antique white paint, mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with water. Very messy though, while doing it. Friend and I had a right laugh getting it done. Have to say I am really pleased with how my living room looks now - makes such a difference.

Back2Two · 16/10/2014 20:08

How did you do that Alice please?
With watered down paint? And did you have to do any cleaning/prep of the bricks?

I have a very similar chimney breast, currently dirtybare bricks.

Back2Two · 16/10/2014 20:08

Cross posts! Thanks

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 16/10/2014 20:10

This is it right now. Still have trim and such to put up. And obviously carpeting to replace. The Halloween deco on it is, of course, temporary. But just to give you an idea.

Painting a brick fireplace ?

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 16/10/2014 20:12

I did it after reading this.

www.theyellowcapecod.com/2012/03/white-washed-brick-fireplacetutorial.html

RandomMess · 16/10/2014 20:14

Whitewash does look 1000% better it makes it less of a "feature" than white paint IMHO

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 16/10/2014 20:17

Back no prep of the bricks at all. Just a big orange B&Q bucket, equal portions of paint and water, grubby clothing and gloves (which is silly looking back as we were COVERED in paint.. except our hands ). Just scrunched up the big sponges in the paint and squooshed them onto the brick work, to get into all the nooks and crannies. Very messy though - dribbling watery paint all over, so make sure you protect the floor/carpets. But it was so quick and looked so great.

I did use a tough brush to brush down the bricks on the inside of the fireplace (as obviously sooty) as much as possible first, because obviously paint won't stick if the bricks are covered in soot. But learned my lesson quick - wear a mask when doing that. Pretty sure it was black when I blew my nose for 2 days after that.

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 16/10/2014 20:19

I like how with the whitewash, the different shades and textures of the bricks are still showing through, so it's not all stark white. It's still shades of colour IYSWIM.

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 16/10/2014 20:29

karmaz with the wallpaper of the trees you have just above it, I think the whitewashed bricks would look really nice.

Back2Two · 16/10/2014 20:47

Thanks so much alice
I totally agree about the difference in the bricks still being there....something I've been wondering how to achieve.
Thanks for this thread OP!

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 16/10/2014 20:55

You're welcome. Glad to be of help. I did this a few month and I still just sit here and look at it sometimes and think "that looks so nice!" Silly, really, but I was so frustrated with how it used to look.

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 16/10/2014 20:56

a few months ago... good grief... must get coffee, typing skills going downhill

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karmaz · 16/10/2014 22:55

Thanks for the pics Fcukfifa.Love what you did AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore what type of paint did you use ? White is too white and black is too black so this would solve that problem. The rest of my room has white walls so this could work. Also with all the different colours of the bricks that I have I will get lots of different shades coming through. Just showed my husband and even he agrees that this could work. Can't wait to get started and tone down those hideous bricks !...Thanks

OP posts:

nightswift · 16/10/2014 23:05

You could paint as an interim low cost fix but I would also cost removing it - it will have to be done at some point - you could do a lot yourself - get the gas fire disconected then bash out fireplace and take to dump in rubble bags yourself, you can strip the wall. I would get the wall replastering and new flooring estimates in to get a cost.

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 16/10/2014 23:23

I used emulsion paint, coloured "Antique White" - not sure what brand.

Best of luck - make sure you post an "after" pic once you've decided what you want to do and have done it.

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